The Colts have become synonmous with putting out poor no putrid offensive lines for long time dating back to the Peyton Manning era. Jim Irsay gave out the mandate to the new era Colts regime (Ryan Grigson & Chuck Pagano) when they arrived in Indianapolis to protect his franchise quarterback and up to this point it has been a complete disaster, nearly costing the duo their jobs and now are “Tied at the hip”.
As a result now they must get it right or they may be looking elsewhere for employment . The team has some pieces to work with: Anthony Castonzo, Jack Mewhort, Hugh Thorton (at times), and maybe Denzelle Good (need to see more of him) and Joe Reitz, but that’s about it. The brain trust will need to find another tackle, center, guard via the draft or free agency in order to be a team that can hoist the trophy up. Besides the number one objective of protecting Luck, the line wasn’t effective in opening holes for the running game. Just ask Frank Gore who described last season as one of the toughest he’s ever had, that says a lot. So, how does the team begin to right these wrongs? For starters, the Colts brought in former Dolphins head coach, Joe Philbin to be teams Offensive Line Coach as well as an Assistant Head Coach duties (whatever that entails). Yes, it’s that Joe Philbin, but what does it mean for the Colts?
That is probably the question most fans are asking, and rightly so. Philbin by various accounts was noted for not having the best relationship with his players, ask former Dolphin, Vontae Davis who has mostly flourished in Indy since leaving Miami and not to mention the whole Ritchie Incognito situation and how that played out. However, prior to the meltdown in Miami he was fairly successful in Green Bay as the team’s Offensive Coordinator. So it’s not an easy answer for determining his worth to the team. Just writing this recap doesn’t sound very promising, but for some reason I like the move. Just because it didn’t work out for him as a head coach (after all it’s Miami) it doesn’t mean he can’t succeed in this role, after all some coaches are better assistants. Philbin now has a lot to prove to the league if he wants to regain his reputation, and if he can coach up one of the worst lines in the league, it will most likely cause some seconds looks for other coaching opportunities. From this perspective it’s a win-win situation for both. Furthermore, I think it never hurts to have former head coaches on staff as they have to had some skill as leaders at the highest level in the league. That’s one of the main reasons I like the move. I don’t think there will be any problems between the players and himself, and the Colts have always had a good locker room amongst the players. Coach Pagano will not let anything negative happen, you can be sure of that.
With Philbin’s addition the team is building a nice staff after most of the assistants were given their walking papers. The pieces are being set and now it’s up to Grigson and Pagano to bring in the players. If this works as I think it can, this could be the beginning of the change that the team needs which could help move to the next level. Also, just keeping Luck upright and on the field which is something that hasn’t happened very much since Luck entered the league. Let’s hope this move will fix that.
I’m sure that many will look at this move with skeptical eyes, I’m not so sure I don’t feel that way, but I also see potential in this move. The Colts have continued to try to make their system work, which hasn’t up to this point, so blowing up the system and trying something new is good. Hopefully this move will push them in the right direction, at least that is what I’m hoping for.
